Nigeria Offers Help to Contain Ebola as AU Launches "AfricaAgainstEbola" with Private Sector

Nigeria Offers Help to Contain Ebola as AU Launches "AfricaAgainstEbola" with Private Sector

The Supervising Minister of Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, will be among top government functionaries, diplomats, development partners and private sector chieftains who will converge at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos the venue of the formal departure programme of 250 Nigerian volunteers who will be offering vital services to contain the Ebola Virus Disease in the neighboring West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador. Aminu Bashir Wali and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, will also be present at the occasion which takes place tomorrow afternoon.

The volunteers are part of a team of a 1000-strong health personnel force being deployed under the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA). 250 of the volunteers are presently concluding their training today in Lagos which is mandatory before they can be deployed. The contingent will depart Nigeria on Thursday and will undergo another round of training in their country of deployment. The health team, consists doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other cadre of health professionals.

A high point of tomorrow’s departure programme is the official launch of the AfricaAgainstEbola Resource Mobilization Campaign, under a partnership between the African Union and the private sector. This initiative is aimed at attracting funds which will further support Ebola containment efforts.

Nigeria’s success in containing the Ebola Virus Disease is widely seen as a reference point, however, the Supervising Minister of Health has consistently cautioned that Nigeria still stands at risk from the virus if neighbouring African countries are affected by the scourge.